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  1. Business
11 June 2012updated 17 Jan 2024 6:31am

Party like a businessman

Marketing advice

By Harald Moe

Marketing is everything, Everything we do and everything we say, it has either a positive or a negative effect on the customers. Or no impact at all…

Recently, I read a survey stating that 85 per cent of staff are notaware of their company’s core business idea and strategy. This is how the idea of using a “party metaphor” to describe business communication & development was born.

The idea is simple. Creating a good party and marketing a business successfully are based on the same principles. The metaphor is based on a 10-step-model which encourages the employees of a given company – from CEO to Post Room – to coordinate their efforts so as to strengthen the oveall communication impact. This might sound simple, but it is not that easy to achieve and getting it right can yield significant profits.

Step #1.

The Party Theme / Business idea & Strategies. 

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It´s important that everyone in the company is aware of the business idea and strategy.

I recently met with a sales executive from Apple. I asked him if his main role was selling Apple products. He answered quickly: “No, I AM Apple!” “What do you mean?” I asked. His reply was fast: “Well, I help our customers to unleash their potential with simplicity and attractive design, and that is someting I LOVE doing.” Clearly, he knew so well the company’s values and goals that he could identify with them. Talk about living the brand!

Tip: Make sure that that all staff is aware of what their role entails and how it fits within the company. You will be amazed about the amount of money wasted and opportunities missed when there is confusion about the company’s aims.

Step #2.

Guests? Target groups and their needs.

Without customers – no business. All focus should be directed towards satisfying the customer’s needs and making the company a ‘hero’ in customers’ lives. IKEA is a great example of pre-empting and meeting customer needs. In addition to functional furniture at low prices, their stores offer free measuring tapes, small pencils and note papers, and especially designed IKEA bags, to name just a few clever customer-friendly features.

Tip: Encourage all staff to think about what their customer needs are, and how they can contribute to satisfying them. They might come up with the idea of ​​your company’s IKEA bag.

Step #10

Seven steps later in the model, you have reached Step #10 – ‘The Moment of Truth’. The result of the overall strategy should be that customers enjoy the product/ service so much that they’ll want to come back for more. The attention to detail at the heart of the company’s strategy is a key element of such success. Coca Cola is one of the most popular brands worldwide; its Facebook page counts more than 42 million ‘likes’. Not only it is known to value its employees, but it constantly keeps abreast of social trends. Despite having been established in 1886 it is not complacent and aims to appear fresh all the time (no pun intended).

Harald Moe is a business & communication consultant based in Sweden. He is the author of Party Marketing

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  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU